friendship

Witch Hat Atelier: Kitchen, Volume 1

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by Hiromi Sato
Created by Kmome Shirahama
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Content: It’s got short stories and recipes! It’s in the Graphic Novel section with the rest of the Witch Hat Atelier manga.

The basic “plot” of this is the Atelier master, Quifey and Olruggio both love to cook, but they don’t have time during the day. So when the students are all in bed, they take to the kitchen. Sometimes alone and sometimes together, they create scrumptious meals for one another and their students.

It’s a silly book – there’s a chapter about them cooking, followed by a recipe with the magical ingredients (and footnotes in the back with our world equivalents). That’s it. It’s cute and sweet and fluffy, but not much else. It looks like there’s a bunch of these, which I guess superfans would love, but while I thought this one was charming, I have no inclination to keep reading them.

I may try out one of the recipes, though. Just to see.

Audiobook: Finding Hope

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by Nicola Baker
Read by Kristin Atherton
Listen at Libro.fm (I think it’s only in e-book and audio)
Content: There are some intense moments. It would be in the Middle Grade (grades 3-5) section of the bookstore if it were a print book.

Ava is stuck at Whistledown Farm for two whole weeks while her parents make an important trip to America. She’s a city girl, and during the only visits she’s ever made to the sheep farm she’s mostly kept to the house. She’s not sure she wants to spend two whole weeks with her aunt, uncle, and cousin (especially since her cousin is less than thrlled to see her!), but she’s determined to help. Then, on the first night, she finds a lost lamb and brings it in. They all set Ava to carig for it, and that’s the first step on her journey to learning to love the farm and the work it takes to run it.

There’s some dramatic moments: Ava forgets to close the chicken barn door one night and a fox kills off half of the flock, and there’s some sheep rustling nonsense, but mostly, it’s Ava learning how to live and work on a farm.

I liked this one well enough. The cousin, Tom, was an annoying 10-year-old boy that I wanted to smack a few times, but it wasn’t terrible. The thing that made this one work for me was the narrator. Atherton was fantastic. I’m not sure the book (it’s a celebrity author, I guess) would have been great otherwise, but Atherton made the characters shine.

It’s a short, fun read, especially for those kids who love animals.

Funny Story

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by Emily Henry
First sentence: “Some people are natural storytellers.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
ARC pilfered from the box our awesome Penguin rep sent the store.
Release date: April 23, 2024
Content: There is some swearing, including multiple f-bombs, and on-page sex. It will be in the Romance section of the bookstore.

Daphne has uprooted her life and moved to northern Michigan – a smallish town on Lake Michigan – because her fiance, Peter, wanted to move home. All is fine and good: she has a dream job as a children’s librarian and she’s planning their wedding. Until the night of Peter’s bachelor party, when he decides he can’t live without his best friend and love of his life, Petra. He calls off the wedding, and heartbroken, Daphne turns to the only person she can think of who can understand her heartbreak (and has an empty room): Petra’s ex-boyfriend, Miles.

Their stint as roommates is uneventful until they get invitations to Peter and Petra’s wedding. Then, when they drunkenly RSVP and Peter calls to ask why, Daphne lets out that she and Miles are “dating”. Thus begins the fake dating scheme to get back at Peter and Petra, which might just turn into something more.

Henry is a solid romance writer, and this one is right up there with the best of her work. I think she’s justifying her leap to hardcover: this one is as much about Daphne’s self-discovery and learning to make and cultivate friendships as it is about hitting all the romance tropes. I love that both Daphne and Miles are complicated characters, but that they learn, develop, and grow together in ways that are just delightful. Henry knows how to write banter with the best of them, and even though the characters aren’t enemies, there’s some pretty smart and fun banter going on. And there’s palpable tension coming off the page when they get together.

If Henry decides to publish her grocery list, I’ll read it. She’s just that good. And this one is no exception.

Audiobook: Bookshops & Bonedust

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by Travis Baldree
Read by the author
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Or listen at Libro.fm
Others in the series: Legends & Lattes
Content: There is swearing, including many f-bombs, and some violence. It’s in the Science Fiction/Fantasy section of the bookstore.

In this prequel to Legends & Lattes, Viv finds herself injured and unexpectedly laid up due to an injury in the seaside town of Murk. She’s accustomed to being active, so having to convalesce is not something she wants to do. In her wandering around the down, she discovers a run-down bookshop whose owner, Fern, struggles to make ends meet. Viv discovers the benefit of knowing a good bookseller (!) and falls into a friendship with Fern. She also has a sweet summer romance with a baker in town. And, on top of everything, there’s a mysterious man in gray who leaves behind (well – he dies, so kinda) a bag full of bones that turns out to be a homunculus named Satchel.

Like the first one, not much happens in this book. (Granted, more happens in this than in the first one.) But, it’s still sweet, charming, super cozy, and enjoyable. The characters are fun, and the world Baldree has created is clever. I have really come to enjoy his narration as well; it’s incredibly engaging. So, no, there’s not a lot of plot in these, but they are so much fun to listen to. 

Sincerely Sicily

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by Taika Burgess
First sentence: “Demanding to see the email only shows me how real this all is.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Content: There is bullying and microaggressions. It’s in the Middle Grade (grades 3-5) section of the bookstore. I read this book for the Cybils, and this reflects my opinion and not that of the whole panel.

Sicily is upset: for her 6th grade year she is going to a new school, away from all her friends. She doesn’t want to, but she doesn’t have a choice. It’s made worse by the fact that there isn’t many non-white kids at her school. It’s made worse because she is a Black Panamanian – and the kids at school don’t understand that heritage. Then there’s her Abuela, who is critical of Sicily’s box braids, calling them “low class”. Sicily just feels picked on from all sides. How will she ever figure out this new school?

I liked this one a lot. I liked that Burgess focused on the Black Panamanian heritage, but also that she gave Sicily some friend problems as well as a new crush. It made the book well-rounded, capturing every part of Sicily’s journey. I also learned quite a bit about Panama and the heritage of Black people there, which I also liked. It was a really good book!

What Happened to Rachel Riley?

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by Claire Swinarski
First sentence: “Ms. O’Dell, I hope that you’re having a good winter break.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Content: There is harassment by middle school boys. It’s in the Middle Grade (grades 3-5) section of the bookstore. I read this book for the Cybils, and this reflects my opinion and not that of the whole panel.

Anna Hunt is the new girl at her middle school in Madison, Wisconsin, and she’s noticed something odd: no one talks to Rachel Riley. Not a word. This is weird because Anna’s discovered – through the miracle of social media – that Rachel used to be popular. So, Anna – nominally as part of an application to a podcasting camp – decides to get to the bottom of why no one will talk to Rachel anymore.

Everyone seems reluctant to talk about what happened at the end of 7th grade. But as Anna digs deeper, what she finds might just shake up their 8th-grade year as well.

I love a good story told through found documents, and this one was fun. There were some prose sections, so it wasn’t entirely found documents, but much lot of it was. And it’s a smart story as well. I liked how Anna had to piece things together, and how the reader was never too far ahead, so I never felt like I was waiting for Anna to catch up. I loved the dynamic of Anna’s family, and how she slowly made friends at her school – moving right before 8th grade is hard, and I liked how Swinarski portrayed that.

When I finished, my takeaway to my kids was “Middle school boys are the worst”, to which they said, “You just now figured that out?” Which is sad in its own right. Still, I like a good book where girls stand up to the harassment that is ignored in middle schools and hopefully, make their school a better place.

A good story.

Hands

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by Tony Maldonado
First sentence: “You promise?”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Content: There is violence, domestic and fist-fights. It’s in the YA section (grades 6-8) of the bookstore, but I’d give it to a 5th grader. I read this book for the Cybils, and this is a reflection of my opinion and not that of the whole panel.

Two years ago, Trevor’s stepdad was arrested and sent to jail for beating Trevor’s mom. On his way, he said that he would come back for her, and Trevor’s been on edge ever since. Now at 12, his stepdad is about to get out of jail, and Trevor is determined to become the sort of person who could protect and defend his mom and sisters. Which means he needs to be stronger, better at fighting.

But, in his quest, he discovers that maybe there is more to, well, everything than he thought. There are other ways of using your hands. There are other ways of confronting the bad things in his life, his neighborhood. And that “promise” means a lot of things.

I really liked this one. Maldonado captures not only what it’s like to be 12, and have to grow up before you’re quite ready, he captures the spirit of a neighborhood and a family. It felt real, and yet it was hopeful at the same time. There was violence and danger, and yet there are Other Ways that may be better. I liked the inner conflict that Trevor had: he wants to be a Man, and protect his family, and yet he really is just a kid and he wants that, too. And a bonus: Maldonado didn’t use extra words: The short book packs a powerful uch.

Quite a remarkable small book.

Audiobook: Legends & Lattes

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by Travis Baldree
Read by the author
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Or listen at Libro.fm
Content: There is some violence. It’s in the Science Fiction/Fantasy section of the bookstore.

Viv, an orc barbarian, is tired of being a hired thief-assassin, and so hangs up her sword (somewhat literally) and opens a coffee shop in the town of Thune. She’s starting from scratch: no one in the town has heard of the gnomish drink, and so she and the group of friends she collects once this project starts set out to create a spot. There are problems including a mafia boss to win over and a former companion who is convinced Viv has something extremely valuable. But, mostly, it’s a book about starting over, making friends, finding love, and a good cup of coffee with an excellent pastry.

The subtitle of this book is “A Novel of High Fantasy and Low Stakes” and that pretty much sums it up. Not much happens. Even the problems don’t amount to much. But, it was delightful to listen to. Baldree did an excellent job narrating his book, and I was delighted to listen as they invented iced drinks, cinnamon rolls, biscotti, and chocolate croissants. So, no, nothing happened. But it was incredibly enjoyable anyway.

Hooky Volumes 2 and 3

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by Mariam Boastre Tur
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there! (Volume 2, Volume 3)
Others in the series: Hooky, Volume 1
Content: There is some violence, most of it fantasy, and some awful parenting. There’s also some romance and kissing. it’s in the middle-grade Graphic Novel section of the bookstore.

Twins Dani and Dorian Wytte are still out to stop the witches from usurping the non-witch king (and Monica’s dad); rescue their friend Monica’s fiance, Will; and make their parents (and maybe their older brother, Damian) see sense: witches and non-witches can live together in harmony. Of course, things don’t go well – they wake up Will (sorry: spoiler), but Dani is kidnapped by the witches and forced to be their queen, though she’s Different, and doesn’t remember any of her old friends. There’s a time skip between volumes 2 and 3, in which Dorian is asleep for three years, and everything goes south, until they find him, wake him up, and can put things to rights again. There are some romances, some fights – a pretty good dragon one at the end of book 2, and a lot of trying to figure out what to do next.

It’s a fun series, and I’m glad I waited to read Volume 2 until Volume 3 came out. (I didn’t remember anything from volume 1, but I managed.) I liked that Bonstre Tur created some interesting characters and world. I really liked the way she color-coded the speech bubbles; it made it easier to follow who was speaking. And I liked the way the story ended on a hopeful note.

A fun series!

Audiobook: Confessions of a Forty-Something F**k Up

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by Alexandra Potter
Read by Sally Phillips
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Or listen at Libro.fm
Content: If you can’t tell from the title, it is a very sweary book. Like, super sweary. There is some off-screen sex as well. It’s in the Adult Fiction section of the bookstore.

Nell’s just moved back to London after years in America because her five-year relationship with her American fiance fell apart. She’s forty-something, unmarried, without children, and by all measures, failing at life. All her friends are married with kids, have husbands who have successful jobs, and homes, and… Nell just moved into a flatshare and is writing obituaries and trying to get a podcast off the ground. But, over the course of the book, as she examines her life and her expectations, she finds that maybe she’s not such a hot mess after all.

I have this work friend (her name is Melissa, too; we call ourselves The Melissas) who has excellent taste in books. If she says it’s good, I know I’ll probably like it. She listened to this one a month back, and I finally got around to listening to it myself. And (of course) she’s right: it’s not only a lot of fun and quite funny to listen to, but it’s also sweet and touching and a good reminder that yes, every woman feels like an eff-up, and like everyone else has everything together. That, and social media really has warped our sense of what is real. It’s a lovely story of friendship and starting over and making peace with where you are in life. The narrator is just delightful (and does an amazing American accent), which made the book that much more enjoyable.

So, yeah, listen to Melissa: this is a good one.